More people have said that and been killed than there are thorium decay products.
He once responded to such angry sentiments, saying that the story has to move forward and those characters were supposed to die and otherwise it would be Trolls: The Sitcom and turn into a serial comedy or something.
^^^ Well, as Naney points out, "dead" does not mean "eliminated from the story." But that said, my immediate reaction... as you probably observed, I went "oh god(s)" and "oh no" a lot. Particularly when Eridan snapped and when Gamzee murdered Equius and Nepeta. I mean, the latter in particular was a great scene in terms of tone and effect, but... ugh.
It was immensely satisfying to see Kanaya beat the ever-loving crap out of everyone at the end of that.
I never did like most of murderstuck. Or Hussie's justification of the whole bit.
Despite Homestuvk's reputation for having many characters, Hussie doesn't like having extra characters floating about. And while other authors would simply have characters do their own thing once they're no longer plot-relevant, Hussie just offs them. In murderstuck, particularly, the killing of side characters is used to establish other characters (usually villains ) as awesome, which I've never supported as a good writing technique.
The Kanaya comeback bit comes off as a bit static as well.
^^ I can agree with those points, even if I did think that it was relatively well-executed. It definitely felt unfair, particularly given what he could have done with those characters. That said, he does not seem to have eliminated the possibility of future appearances by said characters entirely, which is a small but extant consolation.
^ Well, in Equius' case, I think it was a bit more complicated: His own internal conflict about killing someone of higher status than himself contributed just as much to his death as Gamzee's actual attack on him. Nepeta's death, on the other hand, seemed far more avoidable to me, and was therefore even more upsetting.
...and I just really liked her in general. That made me quite sad.
Part of the problem with Equius's death is that it ends in a punchline. A rather cheap one, drawing on his fetishes. He's the only one whose death is treated so frivolously, and that never felt quite right.
I also didn't like Eridan's death. The fact that it came so soon after his evolution into a half-developed character makes said evolution feel petty, and lessens the importance of Feferi's death. It underlines the fact that murderstuck was designed to sweep out unnecessary characters rather than driving the plot (well, except for one or two)
And there's the fact that Hussie doesn't handle conflicts with multiple attackers very well. He tends to only focus on two at a time, leaving the other characters to stand around awkwardly offscreen. It's akin to how Butch Hartman does fights in Danny Phantom. That is to say, somewhat poorly.
I do agree with Vash in that Murderstuck was very good in terms of art and viewing angles and whatnot. Just have problems with the plot.
^ Yeah, Gamzee apologists are on a whole other level.
^^^ I actually interpreted that last beat somewhat differently: Where you saw a joke, I saw what would be a joke played for horror (or possibly both). The fact that he smiles involuntarily as he is murdered by someone "above" him is absurd, but in an extremely ghoulish way that only underlines the fatalistic tone of the scene.
As for what happened to Eridan, I agree. While I think that having him snap like that was actually an interesting piece of character development (albeit of the disturbing kind), having him simply offed without a real fight, while viscerally satisfying, was a bit cheap and a little annoying in hindsight.
^^ Oh dear. That's a special kind of tasteless.
^ Also true, although logistically speaking I get why that would be the case. Three-way fights are... awkward.
Well, Hussie intended it to be a joke, if I'm remembering his Formspring correctly (it was essentially the Homestuck Bible before Hussie deleted it). But I like your interpretation of it. It might be a serial reader vs. non-serial reader thing.
^^ Well, keep in mind that Hussie has long been notorious for phrasing answers in a way that are guaranteed to rustle as many proverbial jimmies as possible. It is possible that reading it continuously rather than serially does change one's perspective, however.
^ ...in a perverse way, I find that logic rather appealing. He was exactly the kind of character that would end up getting himself offed like that. Sad, but fitting.
Indeed. That scene was just the most delightfully awful thing.
In any case, I am retiring for the evening. I will continue these conversations when I arise tomorrow, or perhaps later tonight if my sleep is especially lousy. Until then, have a good night!
Man is a most complex simple creature: see what he weaves, and how base his reasons for doing so.
I just like explaining things.
Also, Equius may have been strong in arm, but he was weak in heart, knew it, and overcompensated. That's why he was obsessed with strength, nobility and musclebeasts. That's why he died at Gamzee's hands, because his weakness rotted away at his self-preservation.
By extension, perhaps Nepeta died because she was curious.
Having read up to the most recent updates, Gamzee's come off as inscrutable at best and macabre at the worst.
It says something that I find Vriska apologists to be more sensible than Gamzee apologists.
Matter'a'fact, Gamzee's my least favorite villain out of the Murderstuck segment. Vriska killing of Tavros, as disappointing as it was, fit very well considering the relationship between them. Same with Eridan and Feferi, though Kanaya was arguably little more than cannon fodder in that confrontation. Gamzee never had anything resembling proper motivations, besides his evil religion bit, so he functions as little more than your standard horror movie monster.
This swede raids your coasts, murders your owner who wrote the poem about you, steals your gold, and kidnaps your kittens to bring back to Sweden to keep the rats away.
I guess if everyone I met ever didn't adore Gamzee to death, I might be more okay with him.
man from what i've seen gamzee is like the least liked homestuck character
Out of the original trolls, I'd probably say that Eridan's the lowest-ranking, with Sollux and Gamzee as runner-ups. And probably Feferi.
The old chart indicates that you're basically spot-on, or were in late 2011. Exception: Equius scored lower than Gamzee. This surprises me less than it really should.
As for thoughts on Gamzee: Up to this point, the inexplicability of his sudden flip worked for me in that it made me curious as to why he was behaving this way in the first place and made his behaviour more unsettling overall. The change in his Strife Specibus, in particular, indicated that something strange was up. However, enigma of that kind can only go so far before it just loses any verisimilitude. If there is no reason by the end of the comic, I will be irked.
Just a brief, unrelated aside: In the somewhat more anarchic Minor Characters Rankings, both the consort holding SORD in the scene where Dave loses his shades and Dave's laser bed have more votes than Vodka Mutini. I am mildly baffled.
There were 74 or less voters in that thing. The statistical wonkiness of such a sample size is probably the reason.
That, and voters didn't have a set list to choose from. They picked their choices from what was recent and in their minds, and from what other voters picked.
I'm guessing that Vodka wasn't mentioned until late in the thread's life, compounded with the fact that nobody had seen him/her for a while before that.
Comments
It's where I left.
I've never forgiven Hussie since.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Despite Homestuvk's reputation for having many characters, Hussie doesn't like having extra characters floating about. And while other authors would simply have characters do their own thing once they're no longer plot-relevant, Hussie just offs them. In murderstuck, particularly, the killing of side characters is used to establish other characters (usually villains ) as awesome, which I've never supported as a good writing technique.
The Kanaya comeback bit comes off as a bit static as well.
I especially hate how Equius couldn't save himself because he simply wasn't strong enough.
Yeah, even in a fix fic, it never ends well.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
I also didn't like Eridan's death. The fact that it came so soon after his evolution into a half-developed character makes said evolution feel petty, and lessens the importance of Feferi's death. It underlines the fact that murderstuck was designed to sweep out unnecessary characters rather than driving the plot (well, except for one or two)
I just learned that some people ship Gamzee and Nepeta.
I'm gonna go.. I'm gonna...
dang, I don't even have a funny thing to do to respond to that.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
I do agree with Vash in that Murderstuck was very good in terms of art and viewing angles and whatnot. Just have problems with the plot.
^ Yeah, Gamzee apologists are on a whole other level.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
In any case, I am retiring for the evening. I will continue these conversations when I arise tomorrow, or perhaps later tonight if my sleep is especially lousy. Until then, have a good night!
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Even though he's fighting against the person he's fighting against, I still just don't like Makara in any way, shape, or form.
I guess if everyone I met ever didn't adore Gamzee to death, I might be more okay with him.
Or to my high school?
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
It says something that I find Vriska apologists to be more sensible than Gamzee apologists.
Matter'a'fact, Gamzee's my least favorite villain out of the Murderstuck segment. Vriska killing of Tavros, as disappointing as it was, fit very well considering the relationship between them. Same with Eridan and Feferi, though Kanaya was arguably little more than cannon fodder in that confrontation. Gamzee never had anything resembling proper motivations, besides his evil religion bit, so he functions as little more than your standard horror movie monster.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
My view of public opinion on him was last truly examined after the incident with Feferi and Kanaya. That may have colored my current view.
We need a popularity tier list for this comic. Like the one that Touhou has.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Anyways, the MSPA forum still has a tier list, albeit one that's two years old.
^^ Fair enough.
No, you irish cat of legendarily catchy poetry.
This
swede raids your coasts, murders your owner who wrote the poem about
you, steals your gold, and kidnaps your kittens to bring back to Sweden
to keep the rats away.
And, worst of all, I don't wait for Sredni.
This is real
The old chart indicates that you're basically spot-on, or were in late 2011. Exception: Equius scored lower than Gamzee. This surprises me less than it really should.
I am back now.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
That, and voters didn't have a set list to choose from. They picked their choices from what was recent and in their minds, and from what other voters picked.
I'm guessing that Vodka wasn't mentioned until late in the thread's life, compounded with the fact that nobody had seen him/her for a while before that.